shot my first batches of ammo - range report

Ocraknife · July 5, 2016, 07:45 PM

Today I shot my first few batches of ammo that I loaded/reloaded from start to finish and here is what I found.

I started off with 9mm rounds that used once fired brass and were loaded with a Hornady 124 gr. FMJ-RN bullet powered by 3.7 grains of titegroup and ignited with a Winchester small pistol primer.

My groupings were very good. Better than the typical Federal 115 grain range ammo I typically use.

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The ammo fed and ejected well, no problems there.

I couldn't really tell a difference in felt recoil, sound or muzzle flash between the Federal factory ammo and my loads but my rounds seemed to group a little tighter.

I did notice that my rounds were kind of dirty - A good bit dirtier than Winchester white box factory ammo. That isn't a big deal but I wonder if that is typical of titegroup or perhaps I did something wrong? Dirty or not, I like this recipe and will make a few hundred more.

I also loaded about 100 rounds of .41 mag. using a Sierra 210, semi jacketed hollow point. I used 17.2 grains of Alliant 2400 and Winchester large pistol primers in unfired starline brass.

For whatever reason this round kicked pretty hard. The max loading is 19 grains of 2400 but the way this felt at 17.2, I wouldn't want to go any higher. That being said, I could and did shoot it one handed and I was able to group pretty good considering my low skill level especially with revolvers.

The gun spit quite a bit of fire but not much smoke. It was surprisingly clean or at least I felt it was. The barrel heated up a LOT after 24 rounds which was about all I wanted to shoot.

I carefully examined each spent case and noticed no signs of excessive pressure. The edges of the primers were still as rounded as they were when I installed them. there was no evidence of "flowing" in the primer pockets (does that even happen on handguns?) and the primer strikes looked normal so I'm guessing my pressures were within the allowed range.

I'm going to keep these rounds for hunting or euthanizing pumpkins but I'm going to load the next batch a bit cooler for range use.

Anyone have a good ".41 Special-ish" type loading they could suggest?

I appreciate any input you could give.

Dufus · July 5, 2016, 08:18 PM

Nice shootin'.

For the 41, you could drop to 15.0 gr. A2400 and make it more pleasant to shoot if you want to stay with that powder.

2400 is famous for putting on a light show with the muzzle flash.

I used to load it in the 357 shooting a S&W M19 4" barrel and it would produce prolly a good 24" flame out the barrel.

I use 17 gr for a light load in the 44, so I would drop yours to 15.0 and see how it shoots.

jetinteriorguy · July 5, 2016, 08:51 PM

8 gr of Green Dot work very nice. I've been shooting this load for 30 years, nice manageable recoil, good accuracy, and economical.

Nick_C_S · July 5, 2016, 09:00 PM

Quote:

(Regarding 9mm) Hornady 124 gr. FMJ-RN bullet powered by 3.7 grains of TiteGroup

Sounds like a good combination. I have little doubt these shot nice. I do load 9mm; but haven't done so in two or three years because, A: I have a bunch of factory range ammo; and B: I only shoot 9mm for carry pistol practice. To me, 9mm is purely a utilitarian cartridge. It has no sporting purpose. Enough about me; I digress . . .

If I were to load 124 plated/jacketed range ammo, with little doubt, TiteGroup would get the call. Good choice.

Quote:

(Regarding 41 Mag) The max loading is 19 grains of 2400 but the way this felt at 17.2, I wouldn't want to go any higher.

A lot of what you're feeling is thrust recoil from the propellant. 2400 is a slow powder and is going to deliver some kick. Turning down the powder charge isn't going to help much. If less recoil is a necessity with your 41 Mag, you might need to find a little faster propellant. If I was in that situation, I would turn to HS-6. But there are others that would do it as well.

5whiskey · July 6, 2016, 06:29 AM

Ahh i remember my first reloads. Congrats on a new time suck.... I mean hobby.

You look spot on with your 9mm loads. I have no experience with .41mag or AA2400 so I can offer no help there. I will agree with Nick that HS6 is a good medium burn utilitarian powder for stout revolver loadings. Be warned that HS6 likes pressure, however, and doesn't take to being downloaded too much.

Nick_C_S · July 6, 2016, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Be warned that HS6 likes pressure, however, and doesn't take to being downloaded too much.

Agreed. Although is more of an advice, than a "warning." Nothing dangerous about downloading HS-6; it just doesn't like to burn clean unless it's pumped up a bit. But its intermediate burn rate (as opposed to 2400's slow burn rate) will tame the recoil a bit - due to less gas thrust and less muzzle velocity. HS-6 however, has the drawback of needing a magnum primer to set it off. Maybe not "need," but strongly recommended for a consistent ignition/result.

Unique would be a good choice too - except you'll run into the similar unclean burn characteristics. Maybe worse. I'm not a fan of Unique - as I'm sitting here looking at 2#'s of it on my shelf

AA#5 is another good choice - and it tends to do a better job at running clean even when turned down a bit. In fact, now that I think about it a little more, AA#5 may best fit your purpose. Meters great too.

Ocraknife · July 6, 2016, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Agreed. Although is more of an advice, than a "warning." Nothing dangerous about downloading HS-6; it just doesn't like to burn clean unless it's pumped up a bit. But its intermediate burn rate (as opposed to 2400's slow burn rate) will tame the recoil a bit - due to less gas thrust and less muzzle velocity. HS-6 however, has the drawback of needing a magnum primer to set it off. Maybe not "need," but strongly recommended for a consistent ignition/result.

Unique would be a good choice too - except you'll run into the similar unclean burn characteristics. Maybe worse. I'm not a fan of Unique - as I'm sitting here looking at 2#'s of it on my shelf

AA#5 is another good choice - and it tends to do a better job at running clean even when turned down a bit. In fact, now that I think about it a little more, AA#5 may best fit your purpose. Meters great too.

AA#5 for the 9mm right?

Nick_C_S · July 6, 2016, 06:21 PM

Quote:

AA#5 for the 9mm right?

Well, my post was meant in the context of 41 Mag. It would make good "de-tuned" range rounds with a little less recoil than the big 2400 stoked rounds in 41 Mag.

But now that you mention it . . .

Yes. Absolutely. AA#5 makes excellent 9mm ammo. I've done some load work ups with 124's that perform very well. With 124's, they'll come in with a little less than max velocity, but are well suited for defense loadings in compact pistols. And it's quite versatile enough to turn down a little for great range practice ammo. 9mm/124 is right in AA#5's wheelhouse.

It'll make 115's scream at pretty much full power. Using something slower for the light 115's would be superfluous - unless your gun has an unusually long barrel. Yes, moving to a slower powder (AA#7, Blue Dot, etc.) would eek out a few extra fps; but it would come at the expense of a lot of report, flash, and recoil. Just not worth it. Others will disagree. Just my opinion. I tend to load with faster powders than most.

Going the other way - with 147's - AA#5 would make great range shooters. But getting max velocity/defense will require something slower (AA#7).

jetinteriorguy · July 6, 2016, 07:02 PM

My earlier post was in regards to a nice moderate .41 mag load with 210-220 gr bullets in LSWC, Copper coated TCBB, and HiTec coated SWC. In my case all three of these are 210 gr bullets.

Ocraknife · July 6, 2016, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Well, my post was meant in the context of 41 Mag. It would make good "de-tuned" range rounds with a little less recoil than the big 2400 stoked rounds in 41 Mag.

But now that you mention it . . .

Yes. Absolutely. AA#5 makes excellent 9mm ammo. I've done some load work ups with 124's that perform very well. With 124's, they'll come in with a little less than max velocity, but are well suited for defense loadings in compact pistols. And it's quite versatile enough to turn down a little for great range practice ammo. 9mm/124 is right in AA#5's wheelhouse.

It'll make 115's scream at pretty much full power. Using something slower for the light 115's would be superfluous - unless your gun has an unusually long barrel. Yes, moving to a slower powder (AA#7, Blue Dot, etc.) would eek out a few extra fps; but it would come at the expense of a lot of report, flash, and recoil. Just not worth it. Others will disagree. Just my opinion. I tend to load with faster powders than most.

Going the other way - with 147's - AA#5 would make great range shooters. But getting max velocity/defense will require something slower (AA#7).

I don't need max velocity, just enough to poke holes in paper at 15 yards or so. I only use factory rounds for defense.

July 5, 2016, 07:45 PM	#1
Ocraknife Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2002 Location: Nashville Posts: 1,117	shot my first batches of ammo - range report Today I shot my first few batches of ammo that I loaded/reloaded from start to finish and here is what I found. I started off with 9mm rounds that used once fired brass and were loaded with a Hornady 124 gr. FMJ-RN bullet powered by 3.7 grains of titegroup and ignited with a Winchester small pistol primer. My groupings were very good. Better than the typical Federal 115 grain range ammo I typically use. [/URL] The ammo fed and ejected well, no problems there. I couldn't really tell a difference in felt recoil, sound or muzzle flash between the Federal factory ammo and my loads but my rounds seemed to group a little tighter. I did notice that my rounds were kind of dirty - A good bit dirtier than Winchester white box factory ammo. That isn't a big deal but I wonder if that is typical of titegroup or perhaps I did something wrong? Dirty or not, I like this recipe and will make a few hundred more. I also loaded about 100 rounds of .41 mag. using a Sierra 210, semi jacketed hollow point. I used 17.2 grains of Alliant 2400 and Winchester large pistol primers in unfired starline brass. For whatever reason this round kicked pretty hard. The max loading is 19 grains of 2400 but the way this felt at 17.2, I wouldn't want to go any higher. That being said, I could and did shoot it one handed and I was able to group pretty good considering my low skill level especially with revolvers. The gun spit quite a bit of fire but not much smoke. It was surprisingly clean or at least I felt it was. The barrel heated up a LOT after 24 rounds which was about all I wanted to shoot. I carefully examined each spent case and noticed no signs of excessive pressure. The edges of the primers were still as rounded as they were when I installed them. there was no evidence of "flowing" in the primer pockets (does that even happen on handguns?) and the primer strikes looked normal so I'm guessing my pressures were within the allowed range. I'm going to keep these rounds for hunting or euthanizing pumpkins but I'm going to load the next batch a bit cooler for range use. Anyone have a good ".41 Special-ish" type loading they could suggest? I appreciate any input you could give. __________________ "The loudest sound you'll ever hear is a "bang" when you weren't expecting one." -Jimro

July 5, 2016, 08:18 PM	#2
Dufus Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2014 Posts: 1,965	Nice shootin'. For the 41, you could drop to 15.0 gr. A2400 and make it more pleasant to shoot if you want to stay with that powder. 2400 is famous for putting on a light show with the muzzle flash. I used to load it in the 357 shooting a S&W M19 4" barrel and it would produce prolly a good 24" flame out the barrel. I use 17 gr for a light load in the 44, so I would drop yours to 15.0 and see how it shoots. Last edited by Dufus; July 6, 2016 at 09:28 AM.

July 5, 2016, 08:51 PM	#3
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,176	8 gr of Green Dot work very nice. I've been shooting this load for 30 years, nice manageable recoil, good accuracy, and economical.

July 6, 2016, 06:29 AM	#5
5whiskey Senior Member Join Date: October 23, 2005 Location: US Posts: 3,657	Ahh i remember my first reloads. Congrats on a new time suck.... I mean hobby. You look spot on with your 9mm loads. I have no experience with .41mag or AA2400 so I can offer no help there. I will agree with Nick that HS6 is a good medium burn utilitarian powder for stout revolver loadings. Be warned that HS6 likes pressure, however, and doesn't take to being downloaded too much.

July 6, 2016, 07:02 PM	#9
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,176	My earlier post was in regards to a nice moderate .41 mag load with 210-220 gr bullets in LSWC, Copper coated TCBB, and HiTec coated SWC. In my case all three of these are 210 gr bullets.